Shiksha Srivastava v. State of U.P. and 2 Others

Court No. - 73 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 438 CR.P.C. No. - 12663 of 2023 Applicant :- Shiksha Srivastava Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 2 Others Counsel for Applicant :- Siddharth Singh Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Nalin Kumar Srivastava,J.

¶1Heard learned counsel for the applicant as well as learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the material available on record.

¶2Present Anticipatory Bail Application has been filed with the prayer to grant anticipatory bail to the applicant -Shiksha Srivastava in Case Crime No.238 of 2018, under Sections 409, 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 I.P.C., Police Station - Sigra, District - Varanasi.

¶3It has been submitted by the learned counsel for the applicant that applicant is innocent and she has apprehension of arrest in the above-mentioned case, whereas there is no credible evidence against her. Allegations levelled against the applicant are false. Investigation is going on in the matter. In case applicant is granted anticipatory bail, she shall not misuse the liberty of bail and would obey all conditions of bail.

¶4Learned counsel for the applicant has stated that the applicant, who is lady, is maliciously being prosecuted in the present case on the basis of fake documents purported to have been issued by the applicant for opening the said accounts and she has the apprehension of her arrest. The applicant is a bonafide person and has nothing to do with the said offence as alleged by the prosecution. The applicant herself is the victim of the crime committed by the named accused persons in the FIR, who happen to be Secretary and Manager of the Banaras Merchantile Co-operative Bank Limited, Sigra. It is alleged in the F.I.R. that a total number of nine FDRs are available in the case diary. The applicant is retired manager of the Bank and a whistleblower as such has got the FIR instituted. It is further submitted that the present applicant was not working in the State Bank during the relevant period. It is next submitted that the she is an ailing person and the relevant medical documents have been annexed with the anticipatory bail application. It is further submitted that the offence under Section 409 I.P.C. has been deleted during the course of investigation and this fact has been affirmed by the learned A.G.A. as well. It is also submitted that co-accused persons, namely, Madhav Prasad & Rajesh Jha have already been granted anticipatory bail by this Court vide orders dated 18.09.2023 & 19.04.2023 in Criminal Misc. Anticipatory Bail Application U/s 438 Nos.9245 of 2023 & 3691 of 2023, therefore, the accused applicant is also entitled for anticipatory bail as the case of the accused applicant is similar to that of co-accused.

¶5Per contra, learned A.G.A. opposed the prayer for anticipatory bail.

¶6In Sushila Aggarwal and others vs. State (NCT of Delhi) and another,

(2020) 5 SCC 1, the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that while considering an application for grant of anticipatory bail, the court has to consider the nature of the offence, the role of the person, the likelihood of his influencing the course of investigation, or tampering with evidence including intimidating witnesses, llikelihood of fleeing justice, such as leaving the country, etc. It has further been held that Courts ought to be generally guided by considerations such as the nature and gravity of the offences, the role attributed to the applicant, and the facts of the case, while considering whether to grant anticipatory bail, or refuse it. Whether to grant or not is a matter of discretion.

¶7In Siddharth Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Another, (2022) 1 Supreme Court Cases 676, the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that personal liberty is an important aspect of our constitutional mandate. The occasion to arrest an accused during investigation arises when custodial investigation becomes necessary or it is a heinous crime or where there is a possibility of influencing the witnesses or accused may abscond. Merely because an arrest can be made because it is lawful does not mandate that arrest must be made. A distinction must be made between the existence of the power to arrest and the justification for exercise of it. If arrest is made routine, it can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self-esteem of a person. If the Investigating Officer has no reason to believe that the accused will abscond or disobey summons and has, in fact, throughout cooperated with the investigation, then there is no compulsion on the officer to arrest the accused.

¶8Considering the settled principles of law regarding anticipatory bail, submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, nature of accusation, role of applicant and all attending facts and circumstances of the case, without expressing any opinion of the merits of the case, in my view, it is a fit case for anticipatory bail to the applicant till filing of police report under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C. in the matter.

¶9The application is allowed.

¶10In the event of arrest of the applicant, she shall be released on anticipatory bail on her furnishing a personal bond of Rs.50,000/-with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of Station House Officer of the police station concerned with the following conditions:-

(i) The applicant shall make herself available for interrogation by a police officer as and when required.

(ii) The applicant shall not directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police office.

(iii) The applicant shall not leave India without the previous permission of the Court and if she has passport, the same shall be deposited by her before the S.S.P./S.P. Concerned.

¶11In case of default of any of the conditions, the Investigating Officer shall be at liberty to file appropriate application for cancellation of interim protection granted to the applicant. Order Date :- 28.11.2023 Shivangi High Court of Judicature at Allahabad